


Made New

by galactic_magic



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Redemption, Revenge, Romance, Time remnant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-11-04 09:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17895833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galactic_magic/pseuds/galactic_magic
Summary: Zoom thought he had killed his time remnant when Barry, Cisco, and Harry returned from Earth 2; but he's still alive, and he wants another chance at love with Caitlin and a life that includes defeating Zoom. Takes place during and after 2x19. Dedicated to all the fans out there that wanted a happy ending for Caitlin and Hunter as much as I did.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lonely and infuriated Caitlin meets someone that gives her some hope.

As soon as Zoom left the lair after stabbing Killer Frost, Caitlin burst into tears. All she wanted was to go home. She couldn’t believe she had fallen in love with such a monster. He claimed to care for her, yet he ripped her away from her friends, chained her up, and was barely even around to keep her company. She had never felt so alone, so helpless, so naïve. She hated herself almost as much as she hated him. Her head crashed onto the pillow and it immediately became soaking wet. She was shaking, lip trembling, she just wanted the pain to stop.

 _Can a person die from too much heartbreak?_ She wondered. She knew it was possible, and part of her wanted it to happen. _I just want to go home… someone bring me home please… please…_

“Caitlin?” it was Jay’s voice, although she knew better that it was Zoom.

“Go away!” her voice was quivering, but still firm. She didn’t bother to look up, she didn’t want to see his face.

“Cait, I know this isn’t going to make sense, but please hear me out,” he put his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” she sprung up from the bed and slapped him in the face. But, something was different. The man in front of her, he didn’t resist. He wasn’t demanding her love and forgiveness. For the first time, Jay was looking at her with pain and remorse in his eyes, and when she looked closer, she even spotted a tear falling down his face. Why the sudden change of heart? And there was something else…

He wasn’t wearing his black speedster suit, he was wearing the same Flash suit he had on when he was murdered by Zoom.

“Caitlin, please just let me explain-“

“Who do you think you are?” Caitlin shouted. “How _dare_ you! Really, Jay? You think that if you dress up as the fake person you acted as on my Earth then I’ll love you again?”

“Caitlin, please, I’m not-“

“SHUT UP!” she screamed. “I HATE YOU!” she sat back down on the bed and turned her back to him.

“I understand Caitlin, you don’t have to look at me, or talk to me, I just ask that you listen,” Caitlin didn’t make a sound. “I’m not Zoom. Well, I am, but I’m not the Zoom that brought you here,” Caitlin mumbled something he couldn’t make out, but he could tell she wasn’t buying it. “I’m his time remnant, Caitlin,” she turned around.

“What?” she finally looked into his eyes. “Zoom told us about making a time remnant, just before he took me here,” she looked down at her shackled wrists. “But, I- I saw you die!”

“I know, I know. But by the grace of God, or the speed force, or maybe just my will to live, I survived,” he took her hands and held them tight. “But Cait, my original self doesn’t know I’m still alive. You can’t tell him,”

“Of course I won’t, but I don’t understand,” she pulled her hands away from him. “If you’re Zoom’s time remnant, you’re still Zoom. You’re just as evil and heartless, I don’t see why I should trust you or hate you any less than him,”

“Yes Caitlin, I am still Zoom, I have almost every memory and experience that he has, and I’ve committed just as many crimes,” he knelt down on his knees. “But when he told me that I needed to die in order for him to succeed, and that I needed to give up being with you,” his eyes began to water again, “and when I stepped onto the platform with the breech, knowing any second I was about to have my own self kill me, I looked at you and realized that I’ve been wrong this whole time, I don’t need to kill people to fill the dark void in my heart and soul, I don’t need Barry’s speed to cure me, and I don’t need to die,”

“So what, you want me to just believe that you’ve completely changed and you’re a good guy now?”

“No, Caitlin, I know I’m still a monster, I know I’ll never be the man you deserve. But when Zoom almost killed me, I saw your face before I blacked out, I saw the hurt, the same hurt I’ve been feeling my entire life, and I don’t want you to feel that anymore. I want you to have the happiness that I never could,”

“What do you want from me, then?”

“I don’t want anything from you. I just want to help you get home, and possibly help you defeat my other self, if that’s what you want. After that, you don’t have to see or speak to me ever again, you can even kill me if you want to,”

“Jay, I don’t know what to say-“

“You don’t have to decide now. But I need to go, he’ll be back soon. I’ll come see you again tomorrow,” he ran away in a flash of lightning, leaving a piece of paper in Caitlin’s lap.

 _I love you_ , it said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Please comment what you think!  
> Also, my tumblr url is galactic-magick , there isn't much on it yet, but you can follow it to get more updates on my fics and fandoms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin back-talks Zoom, and learns more about "Time-Remnant-Jay."

Zoom returned mere seconds after his time remnant left.

“How’s my Caitlin doing?” he asked, placing a bag of fast food on her barely touched plate from earlier.

“Stop bringing me food, I told you I’m not hungry,” Caitlin scoffed.

“How can you be so ungrateful? I saved your life, I bring you food, I give you my love, and you don’t care about any of it!” he punched the wall in frustration.

“I already told you, I just want to go home!”

“No, Caitlin! I love you too much to let you leave! You have to stay!”

“This isn’t love,” Caitlin glared up at him. “I don’t want to be with you,”

“You will,” he smirked. “You will one day,”

She watched him leave once again, longing to talk to the other Jay more. She didn’t completely believe him yet, but she believed that he truly wanted to help her get out of here. If nothing else, they had a common enemy. The Time-Remnant-Jay hated Zoom for wanting to kill him, and Caitlin hated Zoom for everything he’d done to her and her friends. Even if everything he said about regretting his mistakes and wanting happiness was a lie, she knew he would at least fulfill his promise to take her home.

She was starving now, so she dug into the take-out bag and took a bite of the cheeseburger Zoom had gotten her. As much as she hated him, he at least knew exactly what she liked. She ate the whole thing, along with the fries and soda that came with it. Once she finally stopped feeling hungry, she crashed back onto the tear stained pillow and quickly fell asleep.

She woke up with a jolt, she had felt someone rubbing her back.

“I told you not to touch me!” she scolded, but quickly realized it was the other Jay, the supposedly good Jay. “Oh, sorry,”

“Good morning, Caitlin,” he said with a genuine smile.

“Is Zoom here?”

“No, he just left to go terrorize the city before breakfast I’m guessing,” he laughed a little, but quickly stopped himself. “There’s still a part of me that thinks that sounds fun, the part of me I still need to fight off,”

“Jay-“

“I wish I wasn’t still him, Cait. I wish I could just start over with you-“ Caitlin put her hand over his mouth. It was the first time she had voluntarily touched him since his almost death, since she found out who he really was.

“Jay, it’s okay. I know you’re technically still Zoom, but you’re different than him now. You’re trying to change, and that’s all I could ever want,”

“Do you- do you think you could ever love me again? After all I’ve done?"

“Yes, I do,” they both smiled, and Caitlin wanted to lean in and kiss him. But she didn’t, she began to doubt. This was all too good to be true. What if this was all an act, what if this was just Zoom’s plan to get her to love him again? She wanted to believe him, but she knew she had to keep her walls up for now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the man knocking on the walls of his sell.

“Can you tell me who that man is?” Caitlin asked.

“Yes, I can,” Jay looked over at him. “He’s the man whose identity I stole,”

“You mean, that’s the real Jay Garrick? Or the real Flash of your Earth?”

“That’s the real Jay Garrick, yes. I’m guessing your team figured out my real name?” Caitlin nodded.

“Will you help him escape too?”

“I don’t see why not,” his gaze relocated to the floor. “I certainly don’t deserve his title anymore,”

“Maybe you don’t, but someday you will,” Caitlin gestured for him to sit next to her and she leaned on his shoulder. _Wait, what am I doing?_ She thought. _He could still be evil, why do I still want him?_ He put his arm around her and she didn’t flinch. She could hear her mind screaming no and her heart screaming yes. She knew that this could all be a charade, but in the moment she could only feel peace and love.

“Cait?”

“Mmm?” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you to believe me about all this,”

“It’s very hard,” she looked up at him.

“I want you to know that I will do anything, anything at all, to prove to you that I’m telling the truth,” they both didn’t say anything at first. Caitlin continued to examine his face, searching for any micro expression that might reveal he was lying.

“I just- I just need to know that your intentions are real, how do I know that you’re not tricking me? That your love for me isn’t fake?”

“Because falling in love with you was never part of the plan,” he chuckled. “When I came to your Earth, all I needed was for you all to trust me, help train Barry, and then steal his speed, I never thought I’d meet the most beautiful and gifted woman in the multiverse,” Caitlin blushed. “You see, Caitlin, once I found you, and you found a way to save my life, everything else in my life became unimportant. I don’t need to be Zoom anymore, because I have you, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and helping you with whatever you need,”

“Well, if you’re not Jay, and you’re not Zoom anymore, then who are you?”

“I’m who I’ve always truly been, I guess,” he shuddered at the thought. “I’m Hunter Zolomon,”

“Okay, Hunter,” she leaned back into him. “I think I’m starting to believe you,”

With a violent gust of wind, Zoom returned behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are y'all's thoughts on Good!Hunter ?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoom catches Caitlin and Hunter together.

“WHO ARE YOU?” Zoom’s ghastly voice boomed.

“Wow, do I really sound that scary?” Hunter whispered to Caitlin, making her giggle despite the terrifying moment. Zoom sped over and grabbed his time remnant by the throat.

“Stop! Please!” Caitlin cried.

“I thought I killed you,” Zoom gripped him tighter.

“You tried,” Hunter choked. Zoom slammed his body against a wall and let it fall to the floor. Ripping off his mask, he threw Caitlin onto the floor next to his other self.

“Is this why you won’t love me, Cait? You’ve aligned yourself with this imposter?” he kicked his time remnant, who was barely still conscious. “He’s not me! He will never love you as much as I do!” he picked him up again and continued to beat him.

“Stop! Please! I’m begging you, please stop!” Caitlin sobbed. She was bleeding in multiple different places, and her head was throbbing. She could see Hunter barely hanging onto his life as Zoom brutally shattered every bone he had. _I need to do something._

She grabbed the electrical cables she originally used to free Killer Frost, and dragged them over to Jay Garrick’s cell. Zoom was too busy with Hunter to notice. She turned on the switch, and he quickly broke out. Zoom dropped Jay without hesitation. Caitlin barely had enough time to take off the iron mask before Zoom grabbed her by the throat.

“I thought I told you not to do that,” he hissed. Caitlin tried to speak, but couldn’t find the breath to do so. The real Jay Garrick saved Caitlin from Zoom’s grasp and placed her next to Hunter.

“Thank you,” he smiled at them, and Caitlin knew everything was going to be okay. But why was Jay Garrick… Doctor Allen?

Jay ran outside and Zoom followed him. Caitlin grabbed Hunter’s hand and brought it to her heart.

“Please still be alive, please,” she wept. “Please, Hunter, please,” she tried CPR, but he didn’t respond. His arms and legs were like blubber, and his entire body was covered in bruises and bloody gashes. _If only he still had super speed healing…_

Caitlin got an awful idea.

She remembered the time when Barry almost died, he had stopped breathing and his heart had stopped beating. She remembered Team Flash having to jump start his heart with absurd levels of electricity…

No. She wasn’t going to electrocute him. He could die. She couldn’t let him die. She continued to try more CPR until Jay Garrick returned behind her.

“Jay! Please, you have to help me save him!” Caitlin begged. “Wait, where’s Zoom?”

“I was able to temporarily slow him down, but he’ll be back soon enough,”

“Please, is there anything you can do to save him?”

“I can try, but there’s something you need to understand,” he knelt down next to Caitlin. “This man isn’t supposed to be alive in the first place. Zoom put the entire space-time continuum at risk by messing with the timeline and making time remnants, and who knows what will happen if this man sticks around,”

“But this one wants to help! He wants to redeem himself and stop Zoom! Please!”

“He _is_ Zoom!”

“No! Not anymore! Please save him!” her head fell onto Hunter’s chest, and the tears continued to fall.

“Alright, stand back,” Jay said firmly. Caitlin ran to the other side of the room, and Jay started running in circles until he was surrounded by a tornado of lightning. He jumped above Hunter and directed the lightning storm onto him. Jay fell to the floor in exhaustion. “The lightning should jumpstart his heart and return the speed force to his system long enough for him to heal himself, but after that, I can’t help you,” he sprinted back outside to find Zoom again.

“Hunter?” Caitlin stroked his face. “Please, can you hear me?” He took a deep breath.

“Cait?” he couldn’t open his swollen eyes, and his happiness wasn’t showing through the groan in his voice, but he managed to squeak out the name of the woman he loved.

“Oh, Hunter, I thought you died, I thought Zoom killed you, I thought I’d never get the chance to tell you-“ she said between kisses.

“Tell me what?” he tried to smirk, but winced from the pain.

“That I love you,” Caitlin beamed.

“I love you too,” he grinned, “and if all my bones weren’t broken, I would definitely kiss you a lot better,”

“I know,” Caitlin giggled. “I’m going to make sure you get better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts on this angsty and fluffy chapter? XD


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real Jay Garrick fights Zoom, but will Caitlin and Hunter escape?

Hunter was improving, but very slowly. Since Zoom made his time remnant before he stole Barry’s speed, Hunter was still dying. He was still extremely sick, and the speed force wasn’t going to be with him much longer. Most of his bruises and cuts had already healed, but his broken bones had not. Caitlin had to drag him onto her bed despite his objection, and she sat by his side the rest of the day.

Zoom still hadn’t returned by nightfall, and neither had Jay, so Caitlin assumed it was safe enough to fall asleep. She snuggled up next to Hunter, being careful not to cause him any more pain, and dozed off.

Jay Garrick was able to keep Zoom distracted for quite a while, but he knew he couldn’t carry on much longer. Eventually, Zoom would catch him, and probably kill him. He sped around a corner and hid in an alleyway, taking a break to breathe. But Zoom didn’t take breaks. He found him, and pushed him into the wall.

“You thought you could escape me? Save your new friends?” Zoom roared.

“Just long enough for them to heal, maybe even escape,”

“No, that won’t happen,” Zoom grabbed Jay and in a moment he was back in his lair, putting an even tighter iron mask onto him and locking him up in another cell. He whipped around to face the sleeping Hunter and Caitlin, who surprisingly didn’t wake up from the commotion. He took Caitlin and brought her outside, dangling her off the edge of the cliff. “Let’s make a deal,” he growled. “You promise to stay with me, and I won’t hurt your friends anymore,”

“Please, let me go!” she struggled. “Please, just leave me and Hunter and Jay alone,”

“SHUT UP!” he shook her. “ _I’m_ the Jay and Hunter you love! Forget about them!”

“Please, I’ll stay with you, just take him back to my Earth and he’ll never bother you again,”

“Fine,” he dropped her onto the rocks. “But you’re coming with me,” Zoom threw her over his shoulder and grabbed Hunter, and soon they were all on Earth 1. He dropped them both at CCPD and threatened the police officers, until Caitlin begged him not to kill them. They had a deal: she stays, he can’t touch her friends.

After having his fun terrorizing the city, he returned to Caitlin and Hunter chained to a desk where he’d left them. Hunter was still mostly paralyzed, and Caitlin was trying her best to comfort him.

“Stop touching him!” Zoom demanded.

“What, are you jealous of yourself?” Caitlin sneered.

“No, of course not, he isn’t me,” Zoom broke Hunter’s chains and pulled him by the arm. “But your job is to be with _me_ , not him,”

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!”

“Oh, I won’t hurt him my dear,” he smirked. “I’m just going to take him far away from you,” within a few moments, he took Hunter away and returned empty handed.

“Where did you take him?!”

“Somewhere you’ll never find him,” he laughed and sped away. It wasn’t long before Caitlin figured out that Zoom recruited another meta to go after her friends. She was able to over hear all of his conversations. She knew she couldn’t just stand by, even if she was chained to a desk.

After Zoom had left the building, Caitlin used her free limbs to search through the boxes near her, looking for anything that could help her escape or contact her friends. She finally found a phone, and stashed it away in her pocket. _Should I tell them about Hunter?_ She thought. No, she couldn’t. It would take too long to explain.

Later that day, she could hear Zoom making plans with his new minion, Rupture, to attack Jitters. She quickly took out the phone and texted S.T.A.R. Labs to warn them. It was a big risk, but she needed to take it.

It didn’t take long for Zoom to find out.

“You betrayed me, Caitlin!” he shouted.

“I had to! You were going to hurt my friends! We had a deal!” Caitlin defended.

“Our deal was for you to stay with me no matter what,” he hissed through his teeth. “And if you don’t, I will hurt them!” Caitlin didn’t dare say anything else. If she objected him anymore, he would probably call off the deal and kill everyone she loved.

So she did what she was told, she stayed. She watched as Zoom went back and forth, listening to the TVs in case they said anything about her friends. Her wrist was getting sore and blistered from being handcuffed so long; all she wanted was to be released, given some food, and allowed to sleep.

When Zoom returned for the night, Caitlin dared to ask him.

“Hey, um, Zoom?” she struggled to know what to call him now, but he didn’t seem to mind being called by his evil alias.

“Yes, sweetheart?” his response wasn’t genuine, of course, but Caitlin needed to act loving towards him until she found a way to escape or defeat him.

“I’m sorry for betraying you earlier, I just really miss my friends, and it’s really uncomfortable being chained up all the time,”

“Oh, Caitlin, I just needed to make sure you were really going to stay,” he removed her handcuffs and laid her down on a cot he found. “Get some rest, I’ll go get us some food,” he returned with a bag of fresh takeout from her favorite restaurant.

“Wow, thank you,” she dug in instantly. Between bites, she couldn’t help staring at him. How could Zoom be so evil, when his time remnant was able to have a change of heart so quickly? How could two versions of the same exact person be so different? How come her love was enough for Hunter to give up his scheme, but it wasn’t enough for the Zoom in front of her?

After she ate, she tried to fall asleep. In a way, it was somewhat comforting to know that the most dangerous man on the planet wasn’t going to hurt her, but she couldn’t think about herself knowing her friends were still endangered. She was barely asleep when she awoke to a huge flash of light coming through the window. Zoom shouted angrily and went to check it out.

“The Flash is dead,” he told her when he returned.

“What?” Caitlin didn’t believe it, but her eyes still filled with tears.

“Your friends tried to give him back his speed by creating another particle accelerator explosion,” he laughed in disbelief. “But they killed him!” Caitlin wanted to scream at him for being happy about this, she wanted to crawl in a hole and mourn for days, but she had to keep up this act a little longer.

“He was my friend…”

“I know, but you don’t need him anymore. You have me,” he smiled and gripped her hand. It took all her will to not pull away. She hated him. She hated him so, so, much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hunter gets some nice character development next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did Zoom do with Hunter?

Hunter woke up in the middle of a desert. He still couldn’t move his legs, but he was able to pull himself forward with his arms. The air was so dry that it felt like his throat was closing, he struggled to breathe.

“Caitlin…” he whispered. He knew she wouldn’t hear him, he knew that he was probably hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of miles away. _I’m going to die here._ He was going to die from heat exhaustion, maybe dehydration, maybe starvation; all by his own hand.

How did this happen? Just a week ago, he was preparing to finally take Barry’s speed, and when that wasn’t enough, he’d take the entire Earth for his own. Everything was perfect, everything was going as planned, everything was finally going to be just as he wanted. He was so close to having complete control.

All he ever wanted was control, because he never had it before now.

He couldn’t control being born into an abusive home, he couldn’t control his mother being murdered, and he couldn’t control all the relatives that wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn’t control every family that came into the orphanage to adopt, he couldn’t force them to pick him. He couldn’t control the bullies who told him he was worthless every day, and he couldn’t control the law that he had to go out on his own at eighteen. No one wanted to take care of him, or help him find a job.

Was that why he resorted to murdering innocent people? A desperate need to control something, even if it was life and death?

Even getting speed wasn’t his choice, so he tried to control that too. He drugged himself up with the Velocity serums, but soon enough the effects of them slipped his control too. His whole being was degenerating, and everything was falling apart, all because of his choices. His reckless, selfish choices.

He couldn’t quite place exactly why he was willing to give up everything he’d worked for so quickly. Maybe it was because he would have to give it up anyway, for his destiny was to die. He remembered the day Zoom asked him to die so clearly…

_I need you to take my place on this Earth so I can follow Barry to ours,” Zoom had said in his deep, raspy voice._

_"That’s genius! If we’re in two places at once, they’ll never suspect a thing!” Hunter obliged eagerly. The plan couldn’t be more perfect, he could be Zoom and Jay at the same time, killing whoever needed to be killed and staying with Caitlin simultaneously. He didn’t have to choose, he could have both._

_"Good… but there’s one more thing,” Zoom took off his mask and looked himself in the eyes. “I’m going to have to kill you!” he laughed._

_"Wait, what- why?”_

_“Don’t you see? If they see me kill you, they’ll know for sure that we aren’t associated with each other, and I finally won’t have to pretend to be nice anymore!” he cackled, only seeing the winning side of the situation. Hunter couldn’t believe he was disagreeing with his own self. He didn’t understand why any version of himself should have to give up their life. But he knew himself, he knew he couldn’t refuse. If he said no, Zoom would surely kill him on the spot and go find another time remnant to do the job. He had to do it._

_“Alright, I’ll do it,” he replied. Zoom’s eyes turned pitch black as he smiled and ran away._

He had known it was a great plan. Of course it was, he’d thought of it! But something about it didn’t seem right. It didn’t seem fair. How could he ask himself to do something like that? Why should he be the one to die, and not Zoom? Zoom didn’t care how many selves he had to dispose of. He’d tried to kill Hunter twice, and would probably try again and again until he came up on top.

Hunter had never realized how heartless he was until he came face to face with his own heartlessness.

He knew he was heartless, yes. He knew he was insane, evil, and cruel. But he hadn’t cared before. He’d felt justified before. After all his life put him through, it felt reasonable to wreak havoc on everything that moved.

Until Caitlin.

He adored Caitlin. She was nothing like his frosty servant back home, for Caitlin still had a heart. It had been broken many times, but it could love as if all the broken pieces became a heart of their own. Caitlin loved him, and he’d never felt love before, or at least not in a long time. His mother was probably the only person in his life that gave a crap about whether he lived or died, until his father murdered her. He grew up believing that love was what his parents presented: abusive, manipulative, and careless. But that wasn’t anything like the love Caitlin showed him. Her love was selfless, kind, and warm. Her smile made Hunter feel fuzzy, he could listen to her voice for an eternity, and her touch made him feel whole again.

Caitlin was the most powerful woman he knew. She had the power to change the darkest of hearts.

For Hunter, Caitlin was enough for him to want to stay, to change, to learn how to love. He loved the girl more than the power.

But for Zoom, it seemed, Caitlin wasn’t enough. Zoom didn’t see her in Hunter’s final moments, he didn’t see her heart shatter in front of his eyes. Zoom loved the power more than the girl.

Maybe Hunter would never understand why he was so different now from the self he was a week ago, but he knew he had to keep going. He already diverged from his original path, and he had a worthy reason to go on.

“I’m coming for you Caitlin.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin is still held captive by Zoom, and Hunter discovers something beyond the world.

Caitlin didn’t know how much longer she could keep up the act. She tried giving Zoom warm smiles whenever he came to check in, and she tried sounding genuinely happy to see him, but she knew he wasn’t stupid.

“How are you doing, my love?” Zoom asked her, brushing his hand across her cheek. “Anything I can get for you?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, a little more aggressively than she intended. Zoom groaned. He should’ve expected this. He had noticed that Caitlin always flinched when he touched her, and cringed when he called her nicknames. He could tell she wasn’t happy, even after all he’d done for her. But that didn’t stop him from wanting her to stay.

“Cait-“

“Please stop calling me that,” Caitlin sighed. He sat down beside her.

“Caitlin, I brought you here because I didn’t want to be alone anymore, and I thought you didn’t either. I want you to be happy with me,” he ran his fingers through her hair, and she immediately pushed them away.

“Don’t you get it?” she stood up, fuming. She couldn’t take this anymore. “I was never alone, I had my friends, and I could never be happy with you!” Zoom resisted lashing out on her for being ungrateful; it wasn’t worth it. He had a world to take over.

“Alright Caitlin,” he reached up to pull on his mask. “I will be gone the rest of the day gathering my meta-human army. We can finish talking about this later,” he raced off.

_Where are you, Hunter?_ Caitlin wondered. _What has he done to you?_ She looked out the window at S.T.A.R. Labs, speculating whether or not Barry was really gone, and if the rest of her friends were okay. _Please be okay…_

-

 

Hunter was getting desperate. His condition wasn’t improving, and he wasn’t getting any closer to Caitlin. He needed to get his speed back, even if it meant risking his life.

He knew he still had one dose left of the Velocity 9 serum in his pocket. If he just took it, he could at least run to the nearest town and find out where he was, and if he was lucky, get closer to Central City. It would cause more cellular degeneration, yes, but better that than dying out here. He needed to try.

He pierced the needle into his skin, expecting the normal buzz and immediate speed effects, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself in his old room. Not in his lair on Earth 2, not in his constantly changing surroundings of the orphanage, but in his original house.

_I_ _must be dreaming, there’s no way I could really be here._

He came downstairs into his old living room, finding his parents sitting on the couch.

“Hello, Hunter,” they greeted in unison. He grimaced, their voices felt like daggers in his ears.

“What’s going on? Why am I here?” he was sweating, everything felt so real, this couldn’t be just a dream.

“Would you rather us be someone else?” they asked.

“What? What do you mean?” he fell to the floor, everything hurt. The sight of his parents made him feel sick, vengeful, and terrified. He closed his eyes, trying to force the bad memories out of his head. When he opened them, he was no longer in his old house, but in S.T.A.R. Labs, with Caitlin.

“Caitlin! Oh, I’ve been so worried,” he ran to her and hugged her, cradling her head as close to him as possible.

“You really love her, don’t you?” Caitlin observed, once they broke apart. It was her voice speaking, her lips moving, but it wasn’t her. He backed away.

“Who _are_ you? Why are you possessing Caitlin?” Hunter paced around the room, head still throbbing. None of this made sense. Why hadn’t the Velocity 9 given him his speed back so he could get to Caitlin? Why was he in a dream world that he was completely conscious in?

“We’re sorry, Hunter. We thought you might appreciate some familiar faces to talk to,” Caitlin hesitated. “It worked for Barry, eventually,”

“Wait, Barry was here too? Can I talk to him?”

“Yes, he was here a while ago, trying to achieve the same thing as you. But he’s long gone now,”

“Can you please tell me where I am?”

“You’re in the Speed Force.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunter faces his demons in the Speed Force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who have been reading this. I've written many fanfics in my life, but I've never been brave enough to post them onto a real fanfic website(I've posted a couple mini fics on a fan account before, but it wasn't quite the same). It's so amazing that my writing has already gotten close to 100 hits and a few likes, comments, and subscribers. I didn't think I'd even get 10 hits when I first posted this. I thought my writing and plot wasn't good enough. But you all have helped me feel more confident in my writing, so thank you. I haven't been having a great week, but it's nice to come home and write and post, it's kinda been keeping me sane, honestly. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Excuse me?” It still didn’t make sense. The Speed Force was just the root of his powers, right? It couldn’t possibly be a place, let alone a being.

“We’re the Speed Force,” Caitlin smiled, the same smile that made Hunter go crazy, but he couldn’t let himself get sucked in. She wasn’t real. Just an illusion. “We don’t usually present ourselves like this, but we are obliged to whenever one of our speedsters loses or abuses their powers,” she put a firm hand on his shoulder. “ _You_ , Hunter, have done both.”

“So, I’m talking to the source of my power?” She nodded. “And now you’re punishing me because I used a speed serum?”

“I think we both know you’ve done _many_ more punishable things than that, Hunter,” The words stung coming from Caitlin. It wasn’t her, but it still felt like it.  

“I know I’ve abused my powers,” he admitted. “But this time, I _had_ to. Caitlin is in trouble, and the only way for me to get to her is to use Velocity 9!”

Caitlin bit her lip and groaned. Her disappointed look gave him chills, it didn’t matter how many times he told himself it wasn’t really her.

“You know, we’ve tried to stop you before,” she sighed, looking at the ceiling. “We’ve sent Time Wraiths after you, and tried taking away your connection to us. Yet you never gave up. You defied us in every possible way, and we almost regretted giving you speed in the first place,”

“Almost?”

“The Speed Force never makes a mistake, Hunter,”

“Well, maybe you did!” he was getting restless now. He couldn’t bear to stay here any longer, every minute he was trapped here was another minute away from Caitlin, away from a new life. “I never deserved to have speed. I don’t care if you take it away from me forever, I don’t need it anymore. I just need enough of it to save Caitlin from myself, _please_ ,”

“You’d give up _everything_ you’ve worked for, _everything_ you’ve built, for Caitlin?”

“YES! Please, I need to get out of here,”

“No, Hunter. That’s not how it works here. You either leave with all of your speed back, or none at all,”

He put his face in his hands, frustrated out of his mind.

“What do I have to do to get it back?”

“Well, first of all, you need to swear that you’ll never use artificial speed again. It’s killing you, and it hurts us too,”

“I swear,”

“And you need to defeat that,” she pointed out the window, where a flash of blue lightning flew by.

“I can’t catch that! I don’t have my speed!”

“You don’t need your speed. When you’re ready, he’ll come to you,”

“How can I be ready? Just tell me what I need to do!” he would never yell like this if it was the real Caitlin, but he couldn’t stand someone else’s words coming out of the woman he loved. Why did the Speed Force insist on being so complicated? This was stupid, a waste of time.

“You may have chosen the path of a hero now, Hunter, and that alone is more than we ever hoped for you. But you still haven’t let go of your past. You haven’t forgiven yourself. You can’t rely on Caitlin’s faith in you forever, you need to also have faith in yourself,” she gave him a radiating smile, and slowly disappeared.

Once again, Hunter found himself in his old house. But this time, it wasn’t his parents gazing on him from the couch, it was himself, as Zoom.

“Hello, handsome,” Zoom cackled. In a second, he was face to face with Hunter. “I heard you want to be the hero now, how’s that going for you?”

“Being the villain wasn’t working out too well, thought I’d give it a try,” he smirked, dreading whatever his other self planned to do with him.

“That’s a lie!” Zoom inched his face closer and closer, until his pitch black eyes were the only thing Hunter could see. “We were so close to being a god! We could rule the entire multiverse, how could you give that up?”

“I gave it up because you tried to kill me!” Hunter gritted his teeth, pushing back at Zoom as hard as he could. “There’s no ‘we’ anymore, we haven’t been the same person since the day you created me,” Zoom grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, pressing on his neck until he could barely breathe.

“YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM ME!” he roared. “You think that because you got Caitlin to love you again, you deserve better? Do you really think your friends will take you back after all you’ve done, after all _we’ve_ done?” he threw him onto the floor. “You’re still a monster. You always were, you always are, and you always will be. Why not embrace it, Hunter? We both know it takes too much effort to be good!” Hunter’s vision was getting blurry, and he couldn’t stand up. Everything Zoom was telling him was true, he couldn’t deny it. Why not just let Zoom kill him here? Wasn’t that his destiny anyway?

“Killer Frost, Deathstorm, Reverb…” Zoom was listing all the people he killed. Hunter wasn’t even technically the one who murdered those people, since he was on Earth 1. But it still pained him to hear it. Zoom listed the names of all the police he killed, and all the civilians. He listed all 23 murders that he was convicted of before he got his speed, and all the murders that he committed that he never got caught for. “Henry Allen…”

“WHAT?! _You killed Henry Allen?!_ ”

“Oh, yes, did I forget to tell you?” he laughed viciously. “While you’ve been stuck in here, I’ve let Caitlin go, released a meta-human army into Central City, and slaughtered Barry’s father! We’re so close to getting what we want, all you have to do is become me again,” Hunter sat up, feeling faint. Zoom had gone too far. But that didn’t mean _he_ had to.

Hunter stood up, finally feeling the rush of speed again. He took his vibrating hand and cut it into Zoom’s chest. He ripped off Zoom’s mask so he could say it to his face:

“I will never, _ever_ , be you again.”

Zoom closed his eyes, and dissolved into thin air.

Caitlin reappeared in the room, clapping and smiling at him.

“Well done, Hunter. You’ve passed the test. You can now return home with your speed,” A test? Of course it was a test.

“Was that real? Was what he said true? Did he really kill Henry Allen?”

“Yes, he did. But no, he wasn’t actually here. Zoom is still alive, but now you’ve killed the Zoom within yourself. You’ve been made new,”

Hunter watched as a swarm of lightning surrounded him. He looked down, and found he was wearing a new suit, one he’d never seen in his life. It was a deep blue, with silver plating and a silver emblem. The mask swept around his eyes and head. The sparks around him were all yellow, a phenomenon he hadn’t seen in a long time, and some of them began to turn white.

_You’ve been made new._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made the manip specifically for this fic. It was hard to make, but I'm pretty proud of it. Sorry for all the watermarks, I wanted to be sure it wouldn't get stolen.  
> IMPORTANT EDIT: I just realized the watermark for my tumblr is incorrect. I put an "I" instead of a "K." Sorry for any confusion. These are my correct usernames:  
> Tumblr: galactic-magick.tumblr.com  
> AO3: galactic_magic


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunter returns to Caitlin.

Hunter returned to Central City on Earth 1. It was a bit strange running again, especially since he was running slower than normal. He was hesitant to go straight to Team Flash, he would probably get super punched on the spot by Barry because his other self had just killed his father, and Hunter wasn’t even sure how long he was actually gone in the Speed Force. Maybe it had been weeks, months, years. What if Caitlin thought he was dead? What if they hadn’t defeated Zoom yet, or maybe they had?

He sped over to S.T.A.R. Labs and looked through the window into the room Caitlin usually spent the most time in. She was there, and she was alone. Perfect.     

“Caitlin?” he called softly, trying not to scare her. She jumped and whipped around. Her eyes widened and she started to shake.

“Wh- who are you?” she started backing away, reaching for her phone to call for help.

“Caitlin wait,” he removed the mask over his eyes so she could identify him. “It’s me, it’s Hunter. I’m not Zoom, I won’t hurt you,” it took Caitlin a second to ease out of her shock, but once she caught her breath, she ran into his arms. She sobbed tears of joy and relief into his chest.

“I thought you were dead, Hunter! I thought he really killed you this time-“

“I know, I know. It’s okay,” he rubbed her back and held her close.

“So much has happened, Hunter! Zoom let me go but then he released an army and he killed Barry’s father, and now Zoom wants to race Barry and destroy the multiverse… I don’t know what we’re going to do… I’m just so happy you’re alive-“

He held her face and kissed her. He kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in a million years, like he wouldn’t see her for a million more. He moved his hands through her hair and she draped her arms around his neck. Caitlin was still in quite a bit of shock, but in this moment it all melted away. He lifted her up to pull her even closer to him and she wrapped her legs around him, neither of them felt like they would ever be able to let go. Everything was perfect, passionate, and pure. The two people who never thought they’d have a happy ending were living it right now. Caitlin completely forgot what she was even doing before he came back-

“Uh… Caitlin?” Cisco stood in the doorway, completely mortified. “Were you ever planning on telling me that you have a new make-out buddy?”

Caitlin immediately let her legs fall back on the floor and Hunter kept his face turned away from Cisco. This was going to be difficult to explain.

“Cisco… remember when Zoom killed his time remnant? Right after you came back from Earth 2?”

“Yeah, why?” his expression didn’t relax.

“Well, he never actually died…” as Caitlin trailed off, Hunter turned around to face Cisco, attempting to look as nonthreatening as possible.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, no. This is not happening. GUYS! ZOOM ALERT! HE’S HERE!” Caitlin ran over and shushed him.

“Cisco, please, just let me explain, it’s not what you think-“

“NEVERMIND! FALSE ALARM!” Cisco grinned, but his eyes were still wide. Caitlin sat him down, and explained everything. She told him about how she found Hunter, and how Zoom tried to kill him again. She made sure to emphasize that Zoom’s time remnant wasn’t evil, and wanted to help them defeat Zoom.

“Okay…” Cisco knew Caitlin wouldn’t lie about something like this, so he believed her. “But dang, man, where did he get that suit? It’s _sick_!”

“Funny story actually,” Hunter laughed, putting his arm around Caitlin and replying to Cisco, “Zoom dropped me in the middle of nowhere and left me to die, but then I ended up in the Speed Force,”

“Yo, Barry was just in the Speed Force too!”

“Yes, they actually mentioned that to me. They wanted to give me another chance at being a speedster too, I suppose. They helped me to forgive and redeem myself, and they healed me and returned my speed,”

“And they gave you that suit?”

“Yup,”

“Wow, this is great!” Cisco finally released his horrified expression. “Caitlin, we need to go tell everyone about this!”

“No, Cisco, we can’t. Not yet,” she grabbed his arm before he could leave. “Barry is racing Zoom in less than an hour, if we tell him about this now, or if he even _sees_ him, he’ll lock him up, or hurt him, or kill him-“ Cisco put his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s okay, Caitlin, calm down. I won’t say anything. Just keep him out of sight for now, and hopefully when this is all over, we can tell the others together,”

“Thank you Cisco!” she hugged him tight.

“I’ll go upstairs and see if the others are ready for the race,” When he was gone, Caitlin turned back to Hunter.

“Hunter… I don’t actually know for sure if we’ll see each other again, if Zoom succeeds, he’ll kill all of us,” another tears streamed down her cheek.

“Caitlin, don’t worry. Barry will beat him. Zoom has weaknesses, I would know,” he chuckled. “Barry will win. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep you all safe. So go, don’t worry about me. I’ll wait for you at your apartment,” Caitlin smiled.

“Okay,” she got on her tip toes and kissed him.

“I love you,”

“I love you too,” she started for the door. “Wait, do you need a key?”

“I might be able to just phase through it, but yeah, maybe just in case,” they both laughed and kissed again as she placed it in his hand.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunter hangs out in Caitlin's apartment, and is really bad at staying put.

Hunter anxiously waited in Caitlin’s apartment, constantly looking out the window for any sign of life, light, or victory. He desperately wanted to go help Barry, but he knew his presence would only distract him. All he could do was wait, and hope that he’d see his Caitlin again.

He decided to pass the time by taking a look around. The space was incredibly neat, everything had a place. Her closet was sectioned and filled with many tops and bottoms and a couple lab coats. She had a bunch of hair and makeup products scattered across her vanity, and a couple books and a notebook by her bedside. Hunter moved over to a table in the room that appeared to have all her sentimental objects. She had a picture of her family, and many pictures of her and Team Flash. She had her college diplomas there and a few random awards for various things throughout her grade school years. In the center, there was a picture of her and Ronnie, with her engagement and wedding rings sitting beside it.

Hunter’s heart sank, but not because he was jealous. He felt horrible for all Caitlin went through. He couldn’t even imagine what it was like for her to lose Ronnie multiple times, and eventually for good. She hid the pain so well, he never would’ve known until she told him. She was even able to find love again despite the pain, with him, as both Jay and Hunter. And then his other self kidnapped her, manipulated her, abused her, and she still stayed strong. Caitlin survived through so much loss and hurt, but she never compromised herself or her values. That gave Hunter hope that he really could have a better life, and eventually be accepted by everyone once again. If Caitlin could get past the pain and have love, so could he.

It had been a few hours and Caitlin still hadn’t returned. Did Zoom kill her? Did he kill Barry? Everyone?

He couldn’t stand it anymore.

Hunter ran up and down the streets until he found the others, although the giant ring and flashes of light didn’t make them too hard to find. He stayed behind the S.T.A.R. Labs van, watching as Barry and Zoom circled around over and over again.

He knew what Zoom was doing. Destroying the entire multiverse was always the goal before he split from himself, although he never thought Zoom would achieve the means to do it. He never even thought he had it in him to do it.

_I need to help him!_ He prepared to run, but paused. There wasn’t only one yellow streak spinning around, there was two. Barry had created a time remnant. He was going to win.

He observed as Barry counteracted everything Zoom created. It was going to work. Zoom would lose.

He watched as Barry’s time remnant died stopping Zoom, died making a sacrifice. Was it any different from him? Didn’t he deserve a life just as much as Hunter did? He had died nobly, but it didn’t feel right. Yet Zoom wouldn’t have lost without him.

Zoom was carried away into the speed force, his appearance morphing into the speed demon he was on the inside. Once again, Hunter felt a tremendous relief and weight lifted off his shoulders. The evil part of him was gone forever. Dead.

He raced back to Caitlin’s apartment, he didn’t want her to worry about him if she returned and he wasn’t there.

After what felt like another few hours, he heard the door open.

“Hunter, I’m so sorry, everyone’s okay, we just needed to send Harry and Jesse and Jay home, it’s okay-“

Hunter had his arms around her in a flash.

“I’m just glad you’re safe,” he planted a kiss on her forehead. “Cait, I saw everything…”

“Hunter! You could’ve died!”

“But I didn’t,” he smirked, and she rolled her eyes. “I was worried that Zoom had killed you, so I came to check on you. But then I saw that Barry already had it under control,”

“Yes, surprisingly he did,” she was smiling, but there was still grief and fear in her eyes. “Hunter, do you really think we can do this? Start over?”

“Of course, Cait,” he caressed her face and buried his hands in her hair. “I love you more than anything in the multiverse, I will do anything for you and go anywhere with you, and I want to give you all the happiness you deserve,”

Caitlin’s eyes started watering with tears of joy. Never did she think she would ever have this. Have love again. She’d dealt with multiple deaths of men she loved, and had found out that one of them was a monster. Why was she blessed with the miracle that Hunter was? All she’d known over the past couple years was pain, loss, and heartache. With Hunter, she may never have to feel any of that again.

Hunter took her face and brought it closer to his. He kissed her deeply, hoping that his touch would communicate what his words couldn’t.

Caitlin lost her breath, pulling away undecidedly. She wanted to stay and spend the rest of the night with him, but she knew she couldn’t hide him forever.

“Hunter, the team is all going to the West house to celebrate tonight, and you’re welcome to come if you feel ready and comfortable,” Caitlin took his hands in hers.

“I don’t think anyone would want to see me, Cait,”

“Maybe not at first, but once Cisco and I explain it to them, they should be fine,”

“Are you sure?”

“It’ll take time, Hunter, just like it did with me. You just have to show them who you really are,”

He kissed her once again.

“I will.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin reveals the news.

Caitlin took Cisco aside.

“Hunter’s waiting outside, Cisco. How are we going to explain this?” she whispered anxiously.

“We? Whoa Caitlin, this is all _your_ problem,” he put his hands up in defense.

“ _Cisco!_ ”

“Who was the one making out with the guy earlier? Oh, yeah, that wasn’t me!”

“Cisco! You’re the only other person who knows! If you don’t back me up they’ll kill him!” Caitlin glared at him.

“Fine, I’ll help you. But do you really think this is the best time? Everyone’s still grieving over Henry Allen, what are they going to do when they meet a guy who looks just like the man who killed him?”

“Well, what did we do when someone showed up that looked just like the man who killed Nora Allen?”

“I guess you’re right,” he sighed.

They walked together into the living room.

“I have something to tell you all,” Caitlin began. Everyone stopped what they were doing and laid their eyes on her. “I didn’t tell you everything that happened while Zoom had me, but now that he’s gone, I feel like I can,”

“Caitlin, it’s okay, you don’t have to tell us about it if you don’t want to. We know how traumatic that was for you,” Barry told her.

“Y-yes, it was, Zoom will probably still haunt me for the rest of my life,” Caitlin looked down at the floor. How was she supposed to talk about this? After all she went through, they’d think she was crazy for still being with Hunter. Cisco saw Caitlin was visibly in panic about the situation.

“Hey Barry, you know how you created those time remnants?” Cisco but in.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well obviously that was super cool, but did you ever wonder what would’ve happened if one of them survived?”

“I don’t know Cisco, all of them were willing to give up their lives, I didn’t really think about what would’ve happened,”

“Do you think they’d be the same as you? You know, like just a copy of you, or do you think they’d be completely different, maybe evil?”

“Cisco, we all just went through a lot, maybe we could save this conversation for another day?” Iris interjected. Cisco locked eyes with Caitlin, pleading for an answer on what to do.

“HUNTER’S ALIVE!” she blurted.

“Wait, Hunter as in Hunter Zolomon? _Zoom_?” Joe questioned.

“Yes!” she grimaced, “No! No, no no,”

“Caitlin? What’s going on?” Iris made eye contact while walking over to Barry, who was tensing up and starting to shake.

“When Zoom kidnapped me, I found his time remnant,” her eyes darted all around the room, she couldn’t bear to look at them, especially Barry. “I thought Zoom killed him, but he’s alive,”

“Cisco?” Barry’s face was scrunching up, as if he couldn’t decide whether to burst out in anger or cry. “Did you know about this?”

“I just found out today, Barry, I’m so sorry,” Cisco and Barry both looked back to Caitlin. She hadn’t realized this would be so hard, she was almost on the edge of a breakdown herself.

“This time remnant, he wanted to help me escape and defeat Zoom,” she continued. “I didn’t believe him at first, I thought he was just as evil as Zoom, but he almost gave his life for me, and now he’s back here and he wants to see you all,”

“How _could_ you?” Barry furrowed his eyebrows, raising his voice. “He just killed my dad! How could any version of him have good intentions?” he left the room, nearly slamming the front door behind him.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Iris declared, following him outside. Hunter ran in before Barry could see him. He could tell that the explaining didn’t go as planned. Everyone stared him, wide eyed.

“You’re- You’re-“ Joe stuttered.

“Yes,” Hunter greeted, taking Caitlin’s hand which was sweaty with distress. “I’m him,”

“So, you’re not evil?” Wally asked. “You went rogue or something?”

“No, guys, he’s not evil. Chill the frick out,” Cisco groaned. “I talked to him earlier, he’s fine. Please don’t shoot him,” he glared at Joe, who had started to reach for his gun.

“Cisco, I think I’ve caused everyone enough shock for one day, they need some time. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for Barry to see him right after what happened,” she was firm yet sincere. She’d hurt Barry, he even yelled at her. She had to leave. She felt like a burden. “Let’s go, Hunter,”

“What? Where are we going?”

“Just take us back to my apartment, we can decide from there,” he picked her up, and in a second he set her down on her bed. She burst into tears.

“Oh, Cait…” he soothed, wrapping his arms around her.

“I can’t do this Hunter, not when it hurts my friends,” she started hyperventilating, gasping for air as much as she could.

“Cait, it’s going to be okay. I knew they wouldn’t accept me right away, just as they shouldn’t. We don’t need to push it, Cait. I know you want us to get along, but the team just isn’t ready to do that yet,” he rubbed her back and kissed her temple. “I can leave, I can stay. We can leave together, or we could stay together. I will go wherever you want me to,”

“Where would we go?” Caitlin looked up at him, at a loss.

“We could go on a vacation for a bit, give everyone some time to settle from all that happened,”

“Vacation?”

“Why not? Now that I have my speed, we could travel anywhere you want to see. I could even take you to another Earth, there’s plenty of beautiful spots on my Earth, and others too,”

“I can’t leave my friends at a time like this, what if more metas attack the city while we’re gone?”

“I can run you back whenever you’re needed,” he grinned, and kissed her again. Caitlin desperately wanted to go. She hadn’t gone away in years, it would be nice to step back and enjoy herself after all the trauma that had happened. She never even went on a honeymoon with Ronnie, there just wasn’t enough time, and when she was going to go with him somewhere before that, the particle accelerator exploded. She couldn’t even remember what a romantic vacation was like.

“Where do you want to take me?”

“I’d love to show you Atlantis on my Earth, I’ve wanted to bring you there since I met you. It’ll definitely help you keep your mind off everything,”

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do? You don’t think Barry will come after us? You think it’ll help?”

“Yes, Cait. I do. We all need some time.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin and Hunter travel to Earth 2 Atlantis.

Hunter had Caitlin close her eyes while he took her to Earth 2. He sprinted across the ocean until he reached the magnificent island of Atlantis. He found it funny that on other Earths it was below water, and most thought it was a myth. Atlantis was the one place he had felt happy and free at as a child. His parents had taken him there a few times, and his father refrained from abusing him and his mother because they were in public most of the time. He had positive memories here, and he was determined to make even more and better ones with Caitlin.

“Alright Cait, open your eyes,” he told her. Caitlin was still gripping his arm, but slowly opened her eyes. Her jaw dropped instantly.

It was the most beautiful place she’d ever seen. There were tall, bright green trees surrounding the whole island, and there were several rivers and waterfalls, flowing and sparkling like shooting stars. The sidewalks were paved with sea fossils and gems, each one unique. Everyone walking by looked content and peaceful, as if they were actually living in a paradise.

“Hunter, oh this is amazing,” she could barely speak.

“I’ll show you around,” he picked her up again and showed her the many attractions of Atlantis. He showed her the outside of the Atlantian castle, where Queen Atlanna and her family lived. He showed her the aquarium, which had tons of creatures that Caitlin had never seen, and could almost swear they didn’t exist on her earth. Her eyes twinkled at the sight of everything Hunter brought her to, and he couldn’t remember the last time he saw her smile this much.

The sun began to set while they sat on the beach, talking together like it was old times, like they were still the adorably awkward couple they started out as, before everything happened. The sky was a mosaic of purple, blue, and pink, and the moon and stars were starting to peek through. The tides brought in gusts of wind, and Caitlin began to shiver.

“I’ll go get you something to keep warm,” Hunter said, and before Caitlin could tell him she was okay, he was gone.

She started fidgeting with a few of the various shells and rocks, and noticed they were covered in a thin sheet of ice. _It can’t be_ that _cold,_ she thought.

Hunter returned shortly with about five blankets.

“Are these enough? I can go get more-“

“Hunter, it’s okay,” she laughed and gave him and full smile. As he wrapped them around her, she realized she had forgotten all her troubles. She couldn’t remember a single time she felt upset or worried all day, and it felt amazing. What if she stayed here? What if she just lived with Hunter in Atlantis for the rest of her life?

_No_ , she thought. Her friends needed her back at S.T.A.R. Labs, she couldn’t abandon them. There were still meta-humans out there that needed saving and stopping, and Barry would need medical treatment whenever he got hurt. But this new way of life still seemed so appealing…

“You okay, Cait?” Hunter asked her, breaking the silence.

“I’ve just had such a wonderful day with you,” that made him grin. “But I know as soon as we go back, it won’t be the same,”

“Of course it won’t be the same,” he pulled her closer. “But as you told me once, just because it’s a different life, doesn’t mean it’s a worse one,” Caitlin was surprised he remembered that, but she knew it was true. She had been through countless traumatic life changes, and she’d survived every single one so far. “I love you,”

“I know,” she beamed, tilting her chin up towards him so he could crash his lips into hers. He brushed the hair out of her face and ruffled his fingers through it, and Caitlin laughed when he accidentally ticked her neck. She fell onto him and they rolled around until they were completely tangled up in the blankets.

The sun had completely set by now, and Caitlin’s eyes couldn’t stay open for much longer. She fell asleep with her head on Hunter’s chest, breathing slowly and peacefully.

Hunter suddenly found himself in a dark room, chained to a chair with power-dampening cuffs. Zoom sped in and towered over him.

“Hello, Hunter,” he growled.

“What? I saw you die!”

“I did die,” he laughed maniacally. “But I still live through you,” Hunter looked down and saw he was wearing Zoom’s suit.

“No! Zoom is _dead!”_

“Do I look dead?” he ripped off the mask to reveal his normal face, not the disfigured ghoulish one Hunter thought he would have. “I will never die as long as you live,” he removed the power-dampening cuffs. “Go ahead, try to kill me,”

Hunter leapt from the chair and tried to vibrate his hand through Zoom’s heart, but Zoom ran away too fast. He was now alone in the empty room, no way out in sight. He stepped toward the nearest wall and tried to phase through it, violently shaking as much as he could bear.

“Hunter?” Caitlin whispered, his vibrations had woken her up. His eyes sprung open and he immediately grabbed Caitlin and held her close.

“Zoom was here,” his breaths were quick and urgent. “Are you alright?”

“Hunter, he’s not here,” she looked at him, confused. “It was just a dream,”

“Oh,” he didn’t let go, afraid Zoom could take her from him any moment. It was just a dream. _It was just a dream._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a big fan of the new Aquaman movie, so I wanted to add some bits from it with an Earth 2 twist into this chapter. It kinda worked :P


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin and Hunter have some fluffy and spicy time on Earth 2.

Hunter spent the next few days constantly looking over his shoulder. He knew it wasn’t real, but he couldn’t help worrying that something could happen to him, or more importantly: Caitlin. As he walked with her around the city every day and held her every night, he felt more protective of her than ever before. He gripped her hand so tight he thought he might break it, and he kissed her so much he was afraid he might consume her. He was terrified of everything in the multiverse that could try to hurt her, but he was even more terrified of what he could do to her. What if Zoom was right, what if Zoom would always be a part of him? What if he had a psychotic outburst and Caitlin got hurt? He knew he was the most dangerous person for her to be around, but he was also her best protector.

“Are you okay, Hunter?” Caitlin asked him one evening, cuddling with him in the hotel bed and watching a movie on the TV.

“I just, I can’t stop thinking about what Zoom told me in my dream the other night,” he sighed, as if ashamed of it.

“What did he say?”

“He told me that as long as I’m alive, he’s still alive. Zoom will always be a part of me,”

“Oh Hunter-“

“Cait, what if I become him again? What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t,” she muttered confidently, her words turning to mush as she closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I don’t want to fall asleep,”

“No, Cait, get some rest,” he kissed her forehead and tucked the pillows and blankets around her. He nuzzled his face into her neck, whispering goodnight. He caught her radiating smile before she drifted off.

 

-

 

Hunter awoke feeling warm and cheerful. For the first time since his nightmare, he didn’t feel burdened by his fears. He glanced beside him to see Caitlin sound asleep, looking like an angel. Her hair was all over the place and frizzy, but it still framed her face perfectly. Her bare face was peaceful and content, he could almost say that she was still smiling. He raced out of the bed as not to wake her, and went to the store. He was determined to make her a delicious breakfast.

He searched up and down all the isles for anything he could use, and ended up buying way more than he’d probably need.

“Okay…” he mumbled while rapidly searching for a recipe online. “How about pancakes? Those are easy enough,” he dumped some flour into a bowl. _Wait, was I supposed to measure that? I think those are just suggestions…_ He put in a few eggs and a bit of sugar. He checked the recipe again. _Okay, milk and baking powder, but why do I need baking powder? You don’t bake pancakes right?_ He felt a bit stupid, but he really hadn’t cooked in years. In prison, all his meals were made for him, and once he became a speedster, he would just make energy bars most of the time. He had no idea how pancakes worked.

“Hunter?” Caitlin was in the kitchen doorway, rubbing her eyes and squinting.

“Shhh,” he took her and sped her back to the bed. “I’m making you breakfast. Stay here,” He went back to the kitchen and worked on the finishing touches. _What would make these even better? Spices?_ He looked through the bag of all the food he bought and added some cinnamon to the mix. Then he began cooking them, most of them either turning out undercooked or overcooked.

He carefully carried a plate to Caitlin.

“I’m so sorry, they probably will taste horrible,” he groaned.

“They’ll be fine,” she grabbed the fork and took a bite. She tried to hide her disgusted reaction, swallowing it with a smile.

“You don’t have to pretend you like it,”

“No! They’re really good!” he raised his eyebrows at her, she was never a good liar. “Okay fine, they’re not the best. But I really appreciate the thought,” she burst into laughter. “I love you so much,” her grin wiped away all of Hunter’s embarrassment. He finally let the tension go and laughed with her.

“I’m glad,” he cupped her face and kissed her.

“Hunter, I think we should go back,” Caitlin whispered.

“To Earth 1?”

“Yes. It’s been a week now, we should really get back to the team and make sure they’re okay,”

“Of course, my love,” he kissed her cheek, then her lips, then her neck. “How does later today sound?” Caitlin rolled her eyes and giggled as he continued to drown her in kisses.

“Mhmm,” she sighed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin and Hunter go back to Earth 1.

When Caitlin returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, something didn’t feel right. She decided not to bring Hunter in at first, due to how well it went last time. She just did her job for the first few days: research, patch up Barry, take down meta-humans. But no one seemed to be getting along. Cisco didn’t make jokes anymore, Joe and Iris wouldn’t say a word to each other, and Barry kept going on about some new guy at C.C.P.D. named Julian.

“Barry, can I talk to you?” she asked him in the hall.

“Uhhh, yeah, sure,” he kept fidgeting, as if he was hiding something.

“Look, I know it didn’t go very well when I told you about Hunter before I left-“

“He’s still around?”

“Yeah, he’s still around,”

“Out of all the things that changed…” he muttered under his breath.

“Excuse me? Change what?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry Caitlin, I wish I could tell you,”

“Tell me what, Barry?” she stepped towards him, giving him her classic glare. Barry exhaled and looked at the floor.

“I really messed up, Caitlin. I went back in time again to save my mom and lived in an alternate reality for a while, and when I restored this timeline again, things were different,” he couldn’t even make eye contact with her. “I was kind of hoping that Hunter would be gone due to the timeline changes because I can’t bear to look at someone who has the face of my father’s murderer. I’m sorry for being angry at you Caitlin, and if you believe he’s changed then I trust you, but I just don’t think I could see him,” it took a minute for Caitlin to get over the shock. An alternate timeline?

“Is that why Cisco is upset all the time now? And why Joe and Iris won’t talk? That changed?”

“Yes,”

“Oh Barry, I’m so sorry,”

“Caitlin, you can’t tell anyone about this. You’re the only other one who’s aware of the changes, and I’m not ready to tell everyone yet,”

“Barry, you need to tell them!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not, Barry? How could you let all of them be miserable when they were all fine before? It’s not fair to keep this from them!”

“Well it isn’t fair for you to go parading around with someone like Hunter either, is it?” he was yelling now, his entire face scrunched in angry lines, he almost didn’t regret what he said. Caitlin’s eyes watered, and a mascara-stained stream slid down her cheek.

“You know you’re not the only one around here who wants to be happy, Barry,” her voice cracked from the cry stuck in her throat. She left the hall, every heel click reminding Barry what he’d done.

 

-

 

“I need to apologize to you all,” Barry admitted. He’d caused too much hurt, his mistakes were too great. Caitlin was right, they all deserved to know, and they all deserved to be happy.

He told them about Flashpoint, and how they were a closer team before the changes. They were upset, but relieved for the explanation.

“Caitlin,” he started. “I need to specifically apologize to you. What I said was uncalled for, and you’re right. I’ve been selfish, and I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you. You deserve to be happy with Hunter, even if it takes a while for me to get used to,”

“Thank you, Barry. But what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that it’s okay with me if he wants to join the team. We’ll need all the help we can get to defeat the Rival,” Caitlin’s expression completely softened.

“Alright, but what are we going to do?”

“His name is Edward Claris, I knew him in the other timeline. I’ll go to take him down, and if for any reason I can’t, send Hunter as backup,”        

“Of course,” Caitlin smiled.

“Barry, are you serious? There’s no way he’ll go down that easy!” Iris but in.

“I’m the one who caused all this, I need to try to fix it,” he raced off.

Caitlin called Hunter to the lab and told him about everything. Joe, Iris and Wally wouldn’t get too close to him, but it seemed as if most of their former conversation remained intact. Cisco gave him a wave, but didn’t say anything.

“Guys! He knows everything! I can’t hold him off!” Barry yelled over the com. Everyone looked at Hunter.

“Dude, go,” Cisco scoffed.

“What are you waiting for?” Iris looked directly at him for the first time since he got back.

What Barry did was crazy, and honestly he couldn’t believe he hadn’t tried something like it before. Hunter could’ve stopped his father from murdering his mother, he could’ve changed his fate earlier. But the consequences were clear, and Barry was now swimming in them. Everyone was swimming in them. Team Flash was broken, and now they were relying on him to do the job. _No, not today._ As happy as he was to be accepted into the team again, he knew he and Zoom had hurt them enough already. He couldn’t make up for it like this, he had to make up for it by fixing what had been broken.

“Cisco,” he started. “You need to be the one to go, not me,”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“You can breech him, blast him, whatever,” Hunter saw the grief in Cisco’s eyes.

“I can’t, it won’t work,”

“I know you can do it, Cisco,” he looked at everyone. “Barry messed up, we all know it. But we can’t lose all our faith in him and ruin our team because of it. You all have every right to be angry, yet you’ve already forgotten what you did for _me_. If you can forgive me for all I’ve done, you can forgive Barry. He deserves your forgiveness far more than I do,” it was silent.

“Fine, just this one time, I’ll go help him,” Cisco still didn’t seem enthused, but he was willing to let go his distaste for Barry enough to try.

“Hunter, that was really sweet of you to do,” Caitlin walked over to him and wove her fingers through his. “I think we’ll be okay. Before we know it, we’ll be a real team again,”

Everyone smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting in a while guys, I've been drowning in school work lately and have been suffering from writers block. I don't really know where I want to go with this story. I really want to explore Caitlin becoming Killer Frost with Hunter there for her through it all, I think that's going to be cool, but beyond that I'm not sure how much of season 3 I want to get into. Would you guys want me to go episode by episode of season 3 and just reimagine it with Hunter there or would you like me to make up my own plot with them? I just don't want to bore you guys by making it so close to the actual canon. Please let me know :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunter starts hiding things from Caitlin, and some old favorites pay a visit.

After defeating Rival, it felt like the team had finally taken a step in the right direction. Everyone felt grateful to Hunter for trying to help the team, and Cisco seemed like he was willing to forgive Barry. Caitlin had heard that Dante died, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that he wasn’t dead in the other timeline. He would never speak to Barry again if he knew.

“You know, Caitlin, I don’t think you were affected by the timeline change at all, maybe different Earths aren’t changed by our timeline,” Barry remarked.

“Maybe,” she smiled. Barry walked off, and she suddenly felt a shiver. Small icy gusts emulated from her hands. _No…_

She wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen it. But the ice on the beach, the tiny hairs of white she’d noticed over the past week that she assumed were just natural highlights coming through…

_No. I can’t be Killer Frost. It doesn’t make sense._

She rushed to the lab room.

“Cait? Are you okay?” Hunter asked.

“I’m fine, you can go home, I’ll meet you there,” she tried to smile, but her eyes screamed terror.

“Cait, you’re not okay,” he grabbed her wrist while she was reaching for her blood testing equipment. “Why do you need that?”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” her eyes flashed icy blue. She stepped back in shock, snapping out of it instantly. “I’m so sorry, Hunter. I’m just scared right now. I think I might have powers,”

“Yeah… I think so too,” he let go.

“I don’t want this, I don’t want powers!”

“I know, Cait, I know,” he pulled her in for a hug, allowing her to bury her face in his chest. “How about I test it for you?” she nodded. He took a blood sample as carefully as he could and took it to where Caitlin couldn’t see.

“Well?”

“Cait, there’s no dark matter in your system,”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If you have powers, it’s not from the particle accelerator,”

“Okay,” she sighed in relief. Maybe she’d imagined the ice, the cold air, her hair. Maybe her outburst was caused by hormones, maybe she wasn’t Killer Frost after all.

Hunter didn’t lie, but he knew the powers were real. Her eyes flashed the exact same way her doppelganger did, the voice was the same. He didn’t know how long it would take for the transformation to complete, but he feared that her time was running thin. Was his Caitlin really turning into the monster that he used to be? Would he be able to save her just as she saved him?

No matter what happened, he couldn’t tell her there was a possibility she was turning evil. Her expression was too radiant, she beamed at him while walking out of S.T.A.R. Labs, holding his hand. He couldn’t take away her happiness. He couldn’t tell her that her condition didn’t seem to have an explanation or a cure.

After Caitlin had fallen asleep at her apartment, Hunter came back to run some more tests. He ran her blood through every machine they had and tested for every abnormal thing in the database. No dark matter. No meta-human gene. Nothing.

He analyzed gene after gene, his head throbbing from frustration. Why was this happening to her? His Caitlin couldn’t possibly have any of her doppelganger in her. She was too good, too loving. Her DNA was completely normal-

Wait.

Caitlin had the gene for ALS.

Hunter certainly didn’t specialize in medical science, but something about the gene wasn’t right. He knew her father had the disease, so it made sense that she would inherit it, but the gene wasn’t affecting her. _At all_.

_As if it was frozen_.

He couldn’t prove that it was connected, but it was all he could find.

“Hunter?” Caitlin called from behind him. He hadn’t realized he had been researching until morning. “You weren’t next to me this morning, I was so worried,”

“I’m so sorry, love. I wanted to do some more tests, make sure you’re okay,”

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing,” he lied with a smile. Maybe if he didn’t tell her, the powers wouldn’t manifest as quickly. Maybe he was doing the right thing.

Caitlin sighed in relief.

One by one, the rest of the team showed up, which basically just meant Cisco, since Barry, Joe, and Iris had other jobs. Wally hung around with them when he didn’t have a college class, but overall everything was pretty calm. That all changed when the breach started fluctuating out of control.

Cisco called everyone in and they watched, guns up, ready to fire at danger. Hunter was ready to run in and beat someone up if necessary and Joe looked as if he could kill a man.

To their surprise, it was just Harry Wells.

“Harry!” Caitlin smiled and went for a hug. “What brings you here so fast?”

“Well…” he gestured to the circle of lightning that followed him.

“Hey guys!” Jesse beamed, practically dancing around at super speed. Wally’s jaw dropped.

“Jesse, you have powers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys this chapter was honestly so hard to get out. I swear my teachers are assigning a new project or essay every week on top of all the daily work, and it really sucks because I'd much rather write fanfic than write about boring stuff XD Please continue to leave your thoughts though, so when I AM able to write I can know what you guys like and don't like. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> Comment what you think!  
> My tumblr url is galactic-magick


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